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Compensation & Benefits

San Francisco officers propose age discrimination class action

01/15/2009

A group of police officers recently filed suit against the city and county of San Francisco, claiming the police department has repeatedly promoted and given raises to younger employees instead of to more experienced, older officers.

Pharmacist says $2.9 billion will cure CVS wage violations

01/15/2009

A pharmacist formerly employed by Longs Drug Stores recently filed a class-action lawsuit demanding $2.9 billion from CVS Caremark Corp., which purchased Longs in October. According to Charles Jones, who worked as a pharmacy manager and pharmacist at a San Diego Longs, the store violated wage-reporting laws for its nonexempt employees.

UnitedHealth settles stock scheme lawsuit for $895 million

01/13/2009

Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group has agreed to pay $895 million to settle a lawsuit alleging the health insurance company gave executives backdated stocks, a compensation scheme that lined the execs’ pockets but caused losses for investors.

Can we forbid employees from sharing how much of a bonus they received?

01/13/2009

Q. My company asks employees who receive raises or discretionary bonuses not to discuss them with other employees. An employee recently took issue with this request and told me the company’s practice is illegal. Is that true?

Must we reinstate health insurance that lapsed while employee was on FMLA leave?

01/13/2009

Q. Our company allowed an employee’s health insurance to lapse because he failed to pay his share of the premium while on FMLA leave. The employee is scheduled to return to work in two weeks. What is the company required to do about the employee’s health insurance coverage when he returns?

Keep solid records to show FMLA eligibility

01/13/2009

Employees who have worked for their organizations for more than one year total and have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months preceding their need for FMLA leave are eligible for unpaid FMLA leave for their own serious health condition or that of a relative. If employees haven’t reached 1,250 hours, they’re not eligible. That’s why it’s important to track every hour worked.

4 ways to bring domestic violence out of the workplace shadows

01/13/2009

There’s a widespread understanding of the grave impact domestic violence has on personal lives and the havoc it wreaks on families and communities. Now more attention is being paid to its effect at work. Sometimes, incidents of domestic violence actually happen in the workplace. But the impact goes far beyond immediate safety concerns.

Can we require scheduling FMLA-covered medical appointments to suit our needs?

01/13/2009

Q. One of our employees is taking intermittent FMLA leave for planned medical treatment. However, the employee’s appointments occur during work hours, and that has started to have a serious adverse impact on our customer service function. Can we require the employee to schedule medical visits better to address these problems?

How do we handle FMLA leave when the time off is less than our usual minimum?

01/13/2009

Q. An employee has asked for paid FMLA leave for an increment of time that is less than the increment allowed under our company’s paid leave policy. Can the employee be required to take the larger paid leave increment to substitute any accrued paid leave for unpaid FMLA leave?

Require those on FMLA leave to call in sick, just like any other employee

01/13/2009

Good news from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals: If you have a system for employees to call in sick, you can require everyone to use it—even employees on approved intermittent FMLA leave. The trick is to make sure that the employee taking FMLA leave understands she still must call in.